[bricknj]

My wife and I visited relatives that live in TV last year and fell in love with the place, so much that we are renting for the month of October hoping to buy our own home there. I know it will be my call but I was wondering if the majority of folks would take a designer home over a villa? Thank you for any feedback.

[aln]

If I were making the decision process,
Am I going to be full time or part time?
Full time & physically able to take care of 1500 to 2000 sq ft with lot; I'd buy a designer/ranch or cottage home.
Part time would pretty much point me in the direction of a villa, no matter my health.
Aside from that, search for where you're comfortable and wecome to the Villages.

[jebartle]

Really depends on your personal need....A villa requires little work in yard, if any and more time for fun things...Proximity to your neighbor would also be a concern but on the other hand you may have GREAT neighbors like I do...

Hope you make this your home real sooon!....I know you will love TV...We still wonder how fortunate we are to live here...Where ever you settle, I know you will be a happy person.

[njbchbum]

i think there are too many variables for me to be able to help you out with your ?

we are in our early 60's and seeking to downsize considerably! we want to have only what we need in our homes [1 perm res and 2 vac homes] so that when we want to pull up roots somewhere there will be minimal fuss in doing so.

we currently own a manufactured home in the historic section because we are snowbirds with no intention of making fl our perm residence. should that plan ever change we would seek a site built house...prob something the zamora, chula vista, santiago neighborhoods - but nothing the size of a designer.

but then, if there was a considerably well-priced designer in any neighborhood that could be considered an investment, that would warrant consideration at that time.

not that this answers your question, but it is our current philosophy.

p.s. - i anticipate being in brick tomorrow [county offices] - might hafta go over to the ocean to check out the surf! hope you will be hi and dri thru this next storm!

[red tail]

Originally Posted by bricknj

My wife and I visited relatives that live in TV last year and fell in love with the place, so much that we are renting for the month of October hoping to buy our own home there. I know it will be my call but I was wondering if the majority of folks would take a designer home over a villa? Thank you for any feedback.

i rented a home in mira mesa in jan/feb and never met a neighbor. dont know if it was because of the cold weather or because we were renters but it was not a friendly place. now 6 months later i have purchased a courtyard villa a few blocks away and the neighbors couldnt be nicer. the first week we were here we had invites into 3 different homes for refreshments and one neighbor said she just wanted to give us a welcome hug! my back yard is golf course and two walls on each side for total privacy. yet i go out the front door and all my friendly neighbors are there!!! make a long story short if i were you i'd take a serious look at courtyard villa living.

[rjm1cc]

I think the answer relates to:
how much outside work you want to do or pay to have done
how close you want to be to your neighbors
How much time you are going to spend away from TV
I think the access to the Villa garage and its size may also be a consideration.
Since you are not certain could you rent a villa for 6 months or a year to see how you like it. If still not sure then rent a designer.

[Army Guy]

All of the above posters have valid points. Also consider if you want extreme low outside maint and little yard.
For me & Ms AG, that was our selling point having a large home and huge yard in retirment we wanted to downsize the house and get rid of all outside yard maint. So CYV fits the bill!

Army Guy

[bricknj]

Thank you all for your info. I think the most important thing for us is to decide are we moving to TV for good or just to be snowbirds. I'm leaning toward for good but the Mrs. wants to test the waters as they say to be sure she likes the summer's. We'll be renting a villa in Liberty Park for the month of October and can't wait to get down there again. Thank you again, Jerry/Rosemary

p.s. We'll be down at Pt. Pleasant Fri night Sat. morning catching them waves.

[bricknj]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

i think there are too many variables for me to be able to help you out with your ?

we are in our early 60's and seeking to downsize considerably! we want to have only what we need in our homes [1 perm res and 2 vac homes] so that when we want to pull up roots somewhere there will be minimal fuss in doing so.

we currently own a manufactured home in the historic section because we are snowbirds with no intention of making fl our perm residence. should that plan ever change we would seek a site built house...prob something the zamora, chula vista, santiago neighborhoods - but nothing the size of a designer.

but then, if there was a considerably well-priced designer in any neighborhood that could be considered an investment, that would warrant consideration at that time.

not that this answers your question, but it is our current philosophy.

p.s. - i anticipate being in brick tomorrow [county offices] - might hafta go over to the ocean to check out the surf! hope you will be hi and dri thru this next storm!

We too are in our early 60's. Heading down to Pt. Pleasant for a free concert on the beach. Jerry

[Ohiogirl]

As others have said, what is right for me might not be right for YOU.

I've met people in TV who downsized to CYVs from designers and vice versa. I happen to have met more who downsized than upsized, but definitely not a statistical survey. Others may have had the opposite experience.

I would say 2 things for (almost) sure: if you don't like yardwork, or don't want to pay someone quite a bit to do your yardwork, don't buy a designer.

If you have to have a big garage, don't buy a CYV.

Look carefully at storage. Some CYVs have more storage and more sf than some designers, but very rare to find 2 car garages or golf cart garages (although you do find a few) in CYVs.

Some of us welcome the opportunity to downsize and simplify our lives; others want more room for hobby stuff and welcome the opportunity to have more time to do the hobbies.

I personally like to garden, but have discovered that my small CYV yard gives me all the opportunity I want at this stage of my life to garden all I really want. Neither of us needs/wants a large garage - that's just us, might not be you. We think we'll do fine with 1 car and 2 golf carts - you might be the other way around.